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Tuesday, 17 Jul 2012

Other Questions

Illness Benefit

Ceisteanna (4)

Tom Barry

Ceist:

20Deputy Tom Barry asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide the annual cost of illness benefit in the public sector and in the private sector, respectively. [34336/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (1 píosaí cainte)

Illness benefit is a non-means-tested social insurance payment. It is payable to people who are unable to work owing to illness, satisfy the relevant contribution conditions, are certified as unfit for work by a medical practitioner and aged under 66 years. It is not payable for the first three days of an illness. That cost is borne by the employee, except where there is a work scheme. The benefit is payable for a maximum of two years or 104 weeks in respect of new claims made from January 2009. During the period 2008 to 2011, inclusive, total expenditure on illness benefit was €3.6 billion and an estimated €846.5 million has been provided for in 2012.

A total of 150,154 illness benefit claims were processed in the first six months of 2012. To process such a large volume of claims expeditiously the Department prioritises the capture and maintenance of critical customer and claim records such as customer biographical data, information on pay-related social insurance, PRSI, contributions made, information on dependants, payment method and certified incapacity data. The Department does not, however, maintain data on the sector of economy of illness benefit claims. As a result, it is not possible to distinguish between claimants working in different sectors of the economy, including the public sector. However, my Department is undertaking research to arrive at an estimate of illness benefit costs in the public and private sectors, respectively.

Deputies will appreciate that a given claim is supported by a certified medical practitioner. It is based on a person's personal public service, PPS, number and the system is geared to capture the contribution record of an individual to determine whether he or she qualifies for illness benefit and then to pay him or her.

National Employment and Entitlements Service

Ceisteanna (5, 6, 7)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

21Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress she has made in the implementation of the pathways to work plan; if private contractors will be employed by her Department in its implementation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34973/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

34Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection the date on which the new national employment and entitlements service will be fully rolled out; the key functions of the new agency;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34334/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Dessie Ellis

Ceist:

43Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the roll-out of National Employment and Entitlements Service and pathways to work in the context of increasingly stretched Departmental resources. [34951/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (5 píosaí cainte)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 21, 34 and 43 together.

The Department is establishing the new national employment and entitlements service, NEES, which is central to the realisation of the Government's Pathways to Work policy. As set out in the NEES project plan, published on the Department's website, the development of the NEES is a multi-annual programme to the end of 2014.

The first step in establishing the NEES was integrating staff from FÁS, the community welfare services and the Department of Social Protection. The integration which involved the transfer of almost 2,000 staff was completed on schedule in January this year. The new body will facilitate the delivery of a one-stop-shop service to clients and greatly simplify the process. Previously clients had to apply to three organisations for welfare and employment services. The delivery of a one-stop-shop service is being piloted in four of the Department's offices and will be extended to a further ten offices by the end of the year. Under these pilot schemes clients can receive a single decision on their welfare entitlements. They are assessed to determine their employment services requirements and, following assessment, attend a group interview with subsequent one-to-one interviews. Clients who do not engage with the process are placed on a penalty rate of payment.

The delivery of such a personalised case management service is a resource-intensive process and as the service is rolled out, the Department intends to deploy more staff to this activity. The staff will be redeployed from other functions in the Department and the wider public service. The Department also intends to evaluate the potential to increase the role of the voluntary and not-for-profit sector, in particular the Local Employment Service Network, LESN. Moreover, because of the need to address the unemployment crisis and develop flexibility, the Department is examining the potential of contracting with private sector providers as a means of supplementing its own resources in some case management and activation services. In this regard, the Department is exploring several international models of private sector provision, including the not-for-profit and voluntary sectors, as well as for-profit organisations. Any arrangements in this regard will be made within the framework of the Croke Park agreement.

How much money is to be spent on staff training and redeployment? The Minister suggests the private sector will fill some of the gaps in expertise. Has this been costed and, if so, how much money is to be provided? Does the Minister stand by her initial projection at this late stage of the year that 75,000 long-term unemployed persons will be in employment by 2015?

The targets set out in Pathways to Work are to be achieved in the period up to 2014. This is a major change. The first part of the year was spent taking in the new staff and integrating the three strands of staff, that is, the original Department of Social Protection staff; the former FÁS staff who, on 1 January, became civil servants and the former community welfare service staff who, on 1 October, became civil servants. We have been working on the integration and rolling out the project in four offices on a pilot basis in Sligo, Arklow, King's Inns Street and Tallaght, Dublin.

In terms of targets, we have put in place the engagement procedures whereby people are profiled for employment and education history and a prediction is made about whether they will be able to find a job. All of this is taking place according to plan. The group engagements are all happening as set out and I am pleased to report that all targets in terms of establishment of the scheme are being achieved.

I realise time is limited and that it is difficult to get to the nub of the question. Will the Minister indicate how much money has been spent on staff training and redeployment? How much will be spent on private contractors, should they be provided? The Minister has indicated she is seriously considering this option.

We are examining options for private contractors. I referred to the local employment services. These are local companies which provide services on a one-to-one basis and offer an interesting and good model. These are not-for-profit bodies funded by the Department. They were formerly funded by FÁS. The annual spend on these programmes is approximately €20 million. There are other not-for-profit organisations such as Rehab which has been involved in Ireland and abroad in providing activation services. We are examining best practice in a range of countries, especially countries in Scandinavia and others such as New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and France. At this stage we have no detailed budgetary estimates. We are examining the options and the pros and cons of the experience of a range of countries.

Disability Support Service

Ceisteanna (8)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

22Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps she has taken to help facilitate disabled persons to enter the workforce; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34995/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (3 píosaí cainte)

I am committed to supporting people with a disability to participate more fully in society and enabling people to become more self-sufficient. To do this it is necessary to provide supports which address barriers that people may face when entering and remaining in the workforce. Earlier in the year I announced several initiatives in this area. First, a scheme of partial capacity benefit, PCB, was introduced. This scheme supports the progression of people with a disability to full open market employment by providing an opportunity for those with capacity to engage in open market employment to some degree and continue to receive an income support payment. The intention is that the PCB will largely replace the exemptions system and address the limitations associated with the current system which categorises people as "able to work" or "unable to work" by concentrating on their ability to work.

Second, existing programmes to support persons with disabilities are being consolidated as a national EmployAbility service, with the emphasis always on the ability of persons who may have a disability but are anxious and able to participate in the workplace with appropriate supports. This EmployAbility service will provide a new impetus to persons with a disability and potential employers to focus on the positive benefits of ability and capacity to work. In addition to job coaches, workplace adaptation grants are available on a small scale as part of this programme.

Third, a wage subsidy scheme is also available to persons with a disability. The objective of the scheme is to increase the numbers of persons with a disability in employment by creating, as far as practicable, a level playing field for them in seeking out or remaining in employment.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The scheme provides payment of a wage subsidy to the employer to compensate for the reduced productivity of the worker with a disability. The wage subsidies are designed to provide an incentive to employers and to look more closely at the potential of persons with a disability to meet their labour force requirements. There are 946 registered on wage subsidy schemes.

Fourth, the Department will announce shortly details on funding innovative projects in the Border, midland and western regions. These projects will be designed to provide persons with a disability with appropriate progression, education and employment opportunities to enhance their access to employment.

In addition, in May last, recipients of disability allowance became eligible to participate on the national internship scheme, JobBridge. The measures outlined above will facilitate greater levels of recruitment of persons with a disability in open market employment.

The programme for Government states, "We will also facilitate people with disabilities in achieving a greater level of participation in employment, training and education." Many would say the opposite has occurred. Despite the fact the workforce participation is significantly lower for individuals with a disability and those with a disability are more likely to be at risk of poverty, can the Minister substantiate that statement by virtue of her 18 months in office? I would ask the Minister to provide, if not now then in the coming days, evidence-based information to prove that in the past 18 months she lived up to the commitment in the programme for Government to facilitate a greater level of participation in employment, training and education for those with a disability. The evidence coming into my constituency from representations that I receive is to the contrary and I would like the Minister to put the matter right.

As I stated, I have introduced a series of new options for persons with a disability. The partial capacity benefit had been spoken of as a desirable development for many years but I am happy to say that since becoming Minister, I have gone ahead and introduced it. That is an innovation which, over time, will bear fruit.

Second, in the discussions on JobBridge, a number of Deputies and Senators raised with me the issue of persons with a disability being able to access JobBridge. I am pleased to say I was able to expand the number of JobBridge places by 1,000 and to open, at the end of May, JobBridge applications to interested persons who were in receipt of a disability allowance or a lone parent's allowance. That started at the end of May and I do not have statistics on its take-up.

On EmployAbility, we place 2,800 persons with a disability and we are at the maximum capacity, but that is a scheme I have a strong interest in expanding. In April we advertised a scheme, partially funded by the European Union, on innovative projects for persons with a disability and related organisations in the Border, midlands and western regions. I sent a note to Deputies at the time. We hope to be able to make an announcement on those example projects shortly.

Homeless Persons

Ceisteanna (9, 10)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Ceist:

23Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review a matter regarding jobseeker’s allowance for young persons (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34957/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Ceist:

27Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that young persons who have experienced homelessness are in need of emergency accommodation (details supplied); and the steps she will take to respond to this situation. [34947/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (15 píosaí cainte)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 27 together.

The €100 rate of jobseeker's allowance was introduced for claimants aged under 20 in April 2009, and this rate was applied to claimants aged up to 21 from December 2009. The €100 rate does not apply to certain categories of claimant, including those who were in the care of the HSE during the 12 months before they reached the age of 18. A rate of €144 applies to claimants aged 22 to 24.

The adoption of these measures reflects the need to encourage more young jobseekers to improve their skills by either pursuing further study or accessing a labour market programme, thereby reducing their risk of becoming long-term unemployed. The aim is to assist young jobseekers to progress into sustainable employment on a long-term basis. Where a young jobseeker is in receipt of a reduced rate and he or she pursues further study or accesses a labour market programme, the full normal rate of payment applicable to that course or scheme applies without any reduction for persons aged under 25.

I understand that Deputies have been contacted with regard to these measures following a campaign by Focus Ireland. My officials and I have met Focus Ireland on its concerns. These are being examined and further discussions are planned.

More generally, Deputies may wish to note that the Department, through its work in the homeless persons unit and the asylum seekers and new communities unit, provides assistance to persons in sourcing the most appropriate accommodation available.

There are many obscenities to the austerity agenda one of the worst of which is homelessness and of that, the worst of all is youth homelessness. There are approximately 1,000 homeless in the Dublin city area. The number has increased dramatically and the homelessness organisations estimate that 100 young people sleep alone on the streets at night in Dublin.

The Fianna Fáil Government, in one of its most disgusting cuts, cut social welfare for young people. This has contributed directly, not to job creation but to driving many young people out of the country and also into homelessness.

The Deputy should frame a question.

My question to the Minister is simple. Whereas a person in the care of the homeless services retains his or her full social welfare, a person who becomes homeless between the ages of 18 and 24 does not get the full social welfare payment and, consequently, becomes trapped in homelessness because even if the person finds private rented accommodation and gets rent supplement, the person's income is so low that he or she cannot pay the rent. As a result, it becomes more difficult for the person to access work because he or she must give as an address a homeless hostel. What we are asking simply is that any young person who, at any point between the ages of 18 and 24, becomes homeless should be given the full social welfare entitlement so that he or she can get out of homelessness and can access other accommodation.

My objective as a Minister is to ensure as far as possible that no young people in society go onto social welfare and that we provide a pathway for young people who may not be able to find work to continue to expand their education and training and to take up training positions and places from among the various options and opportunities we have laid out. I cannot stress enough how important it is that young people should not be encouraged to go on social welfare and that they should be encouraged into an alternative of work and to become involved in education and training, and improving their skills and qualifications so that eventually they can become financially independent.

In the budget, we provided specifically that young people leaving care would have arrangements through the HSE. The homeless unit, in dealing with young people who become homeless, is acutely aware of the difficulties that befall young people in that situation. The focus of public policy should be to encourage such young people into education and training or to take up options for the development of their skills. As I said, if they do that, they then get a full rate of payment - that is what actually applies. I would prefer to avoid sending out any kind of signal that would do other than encourage young people to stay in education and training or go into employment. We do not want young people to find themselves in a position in which they become homeless and then probably enter into a very difficult period in their lives, where their chances of becoming financially independent are limited.

I cannot believe I am hearing this from a Labour Party Minister. This is the Michael McDowell school of economics - if we have inequality and if people are downtrodden, this will somehow act as an incentive for them to get a job.

Does the Minister understand the question? People who are homeless as a result of whatever circumstances led them into homelessness are trying to get out of homelessness and they are being prevented from doing so because, even if they access private rented accommodation and get rent supplement, the low level of social welfare income provided for them under the jobseeker's allowance - because of the cuts imposed by Fianna Fáil - means they cannot take up that accommodation and get onto the next step of the ladder to try to access employment and get back into society. The question is simple. For those between the ages of 18 and 24 who are homeless and trying to access homelessness services, will the Minister review the situation and give them the full social welfare entitlement of €188 so they can get out of homelessness, access private rented accommodation and, from there, apply for jobs? It is very difficult to apply for a job from a homeless hostel.

The most important thing for young people is to give them a future.

They have no future on the streets.

To imply, as the Deputy does, that the future for young people is contingent upon their becoming dependent on social welfare over a long period of their lives is wrong. In all my experience down the years - I have always lived in the centre of Dublin and am very familiar with people who become homeless - the most important thing-----

Is to cut their social welfare.

-----is to get those people as quickly as possible back into education, training, support, workshops and community employment schemes. Many people who become homeless, as I know and I am sure the Deputy is aware, have a complex series of problems. What they need is a helping hand in regard to accessing education and training and getting their lives back together.

What about a roof over their heads?

If they take up the options that are there, they will get a full rate of payment. I went to very specific efforts to ensure the needs of people who are leaving care are specifically provided for. As well as having long experience with people who have become homeless, I have had an opportunity to sit down and discuss this with people from Focus Ireland. They agree it is important that we, as a society, develop a pathway for young people who are either at risk of homelessness or have actually become homeless to get them into positive routes such as training and education.

We all agree with that. What about the ones who are homeless?

What I am saying to the Deputy is that I expect him to perhaps encourage young people he may know in this situation to take up the options of education and training. This is very important for their future. We have some good options and opportunities available.

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